Changes in Weddings Market

Wedding and honeymoon cruise markets are changing -- they aren't just for the very young and just married. In fact, 40 percent of travel agents report second-marriage couples are their largest source of business and 32 percent noted they are booking more weddings on cruises, the CLIA survey found.

Of the 460 CLIA-member travel agents who participated in the poll, 20 percent said the biggest change in their honeymoon and wedding business came from more couples renewing vows aboard cruise ships, and eight percent saw an increase in same-sex couples choosing cruises as romantic vacation options.According to the survey, 56 percent of agents said Generation Xers (age 28 to 42) now represent the largest group of honeymoon and wedding cruise guests. Generation Y (ages 27 and younger) accounted for 25 percent of honeymoon and wedding business, while Early Baby Boomers (ages 43 to 51) represented 13 percent and Late Boomers (ages 52 to 61) 6 percent.

In other survey news, 57 percent of agents agreed that the Caribbean/Bahamas was the most popular cruising destination for couples, followed by Hawaii at 23 percent, Europe at 9 percent and Alaska at 7 percent. Fifty-four percent of agents said that, on average, couples pay between $1,000 and $3,000 for the cruise portion of their vacation, while 35 percent said couples pay between $3,000 and $6,000 per couple.